There are things in our lives that we never expect to happen. On some level, conceiving Martel was one of those things for me (Angela). I’ve suffered from polycystic ovarian syndrome all of my life. It’s a condition where chronic small cysts form within a woman’s ovaries hindering normal functioning. Sometimes these cysts subside on their own, other times they become bigger and rupture. This happened to me in 2005 during my senior year of college. Afterwards my doctors assured me that I would have no problems conceiving a child, but some fear remained. Fear of the same thing happening to my other ovary and losing the ability to have children bubbled under the surface for the last 9 years.
A few years into our marriage, I experienced another painful flare up that concerned us. During a follow up appointment, our doctor encouraged us to trust the Lord and start trying to conceive: not the treatment plan I was expecting my doctor to recommend! To our amazement we conceived Martel the first month we started trying to conceive. This changed my life! Martel is the most tangible gift of the Lord’s goodness to our family and to me personally I’ve been given. We are so thankful for the joy and lightheartedness Martel brings to our lives. He loves life and others with intensity and reminds us of God’s love for us each day.
For all of these reasons we looked forward to expanding our family in the near future. We thought, “If the Lord, gave us Martel, He will provide more.” Though I previously struggled to believe the Lord would do practically good things in my life, apart from my salvation in Christ, this was the first thing I whole-heartedly trusted the Lord to do. Little did we know, tragically, this past October, I would experience another cyst rupture. In both my previous and this recent case, removal of the ovary was required due to the damage done by the rupture. Waking from surgery, the news that they could not save it hit me like a ton of bricks, no more little half me/half Bryan’s…sadness filled my heart and continues to bubble in our hearts each day.
We are in the midst of mourning the loss of the hopes and dreams to expand our family biologically. Please pray for our hearts as we walk through the grieving process.
Pray that we find comfort in the Lord’s plan for our family. Pray for wisdom of the doctors in my recovery and health management. I’m on lifting restrictions for 6 weeks so please also pray for Bryan and Martel as I cannot care for Martel the way I normally do. Lastly, please pray for wisdom for us as we consider our future as a family. We have been planning on adopting our entire marriage. Now we need wisdom in discerning the timing and avenues through which to pursue expanding our family in that way. We are thankful for the Lords gift of Martel, quality healthcare for me, and our church and Cru community to provide spiritual and physical support for us during this time of recovery. Thank you for praying for us and walking alongside us through this process as we reengage with inviting people to partner with our ministry this month.